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There are certain days that are a little more difficult than others for many of our children.

One of those days is just around the corner, and that day is Mother’s Day. On May 10th, many of us will celebrate our mothers and what they mean to us. For many of our children, that day is not a day of celebration. Often times, it is a day of bad memories and to some, a day of sadness in that their Mother has passed away, abandoned them, is imprisoned, or has never been a part of their life at all.

Most of us have great memories of our parents and more specifically, of our mother. Furthermore, if you were blessed to have grown up in a Christian home, then your memories may include your mother as the nurturing figure who kept the significance of family and children at the forefront of importance. For the children at Hope, life is a much different story.

Recently, we took in a family of four children. Late in the evening, after a fourteen hour drive from Mississippi, they arrived at Hope Children’s Home. Their 70-year-old grandmother had graciously taken them into her care, but between her age and economics, it became clear that she needed help. With 79 children currently in our care, we were soon to have 83 children with over half of those being under the age of 10. These four beautiful children were now counting on us to care for them. Elizabeth (12), Eddie (11), Autumn (9), and Isabella (3). Their story is typical of most of the children at Hope. Elizabeth and Eddie’s father had been killed years earlier by a drug deal that had gone bad. After their mother remarried, the step father and their mother became so abusive to the children that they both were sentenced to prison. Mother’s Day for this family will not be filled with good memories. That is where you can help.

We are beginning our first annual Mother’s Day Offering. Maybe you are a mother who has many memories current day or from the past of all the special times you have spent with your children such as a day in the park, crafts, board games, sports, family vacation, etc. You can give a special offering so that we can offer these same memories to the children at Hope who will never have a mother like you.

Maybe you have fond memories of your mother and would like to give as a way to show your love and support for the children in our care. Although their mother may not be a part of their life, with your help, Hope Children’s Home can continue to offer these children a place of love and security. Providing them with a happy childhood and training them up in such a way so that one day they can be the mothers and fathers they need to be for their children.

May the Lord richly bless you as you give to make this Mother’s Day a special day for the children.

The 2014-15 school year is quickly coming to an end here at Hope Christian School. Our graduation date is Friday, May 29th at 7:00 pm. This time of year brings many mixed emotions for staff and students. We are thrilled about finishing another year of school and grateful to see our students developing academically, emotionally, physically, socially, and spiritually. However, we are sad because we will miss our senior as she goes off to college. We understand that this is a vital part of the growth process, and so, it is bittersweet.

As we look back on the year and how God has blessed us, we are truly amazed at how He takes care of His children each and every day. We are thankful that the Lord has allowed us to work with over 75 children this year. We have seen some of our children come to know the Lord as their Savior and many other children have made good spiritual decisions. We were able to rescue over 20 new children that we know are safe here at Hope. We are also grateful to see some of our children re-united with their families. As we look back on all the blessings of the year, we could not list them all. We are very appreciative to every donor, sponsor, volunteer, and visitor that has helped to make a difference in the lives of the children here at Hope. I would like to introduce our only 2014-15 graduate.

Hello, my name is Brittany and I am 18 years old, and I have been at Hope for the past 12 years. I first came to Hope when I was 5 years old. My parents went through a divorce, and my father was raising my brother, Michael, and I. My dad remarried and my step-mother did not love us and was abusive. My father put us in and out of Hope several times, and then the final time he placed us at Hope, he told us he never wanted to see or contact us again. However, the Lord had a plan and worked through all this to later allow us to be adopted by staff members of Hope. I am so thankful that God kept Michael and me together. We now have a new family that loves us and takes great care of us. I accepted the Lord as my Savior on April 4th, 2014. I am still not sure what the Lord wants me to do after I graduate. However, I am interested in the field of Dentistry and Criminal justice. Please pray for me as I prepare to go to college this fall and as I continue to seek the Lord’s provision and direction for my life.

Alexus, Atley, Ruby, Nathan, Mary

We are so proud of our 2015 Kindergarten graduates for their hard work this year. Mrs. Patsy has helped them learn many things over the course of the year. They learned all 66 Books of the Bible and many Bible verses. They learned to add, subtract, count money, and tell time. They also learned the 50 States, the 44 U.S. Presidents, how to read, and to write cursive. They have learned many exciting things and are eager to be graduating to first grade. As always, we appreciate your continued prayers and support for the children!

Wow, have we been busy around here the last few weeks! We have two major projects that we are working on across our property. First, we are completing a major structural repair and re-roofing of our Girls Dorm and Welcome Center. These are the original buildings that were here when we moved to this property in 1972, and are in desperate need of the work we are completing. Secondly, we have a few very old staff cottages that are falling apart beyond repair. We are currently in the process of demolishing and rebuilding them. These projects are huge and we could have never done it without groups like Buckeye Baptist Builders, Church Building Ministries Inc, Gethsemane Baptist Temple, the Edwards Family, the Toth Family, the Wiendel family, Dockside Roofing, and Kforce. These groups have been a tremendous blessing!

In just a few short weeks, these volunteers have torn off the old Girl’s Dorm and Welcome Center roofs, rebuilt them merging the two roofs into one, and installed the new roof. It looks great and we are so thrilled to get this way project finished just before the rainy season starts! These same volunteers also tore down the old staff houses, and built a brand new one! They covered all of the details including: concrete, framing, plumbing, electrical, trim, floors, and the list goes on! We simply could not accomplish all of this without these amazing and talented work groups. Your talent and servant’s heart is deeply appreciated and such a blessing! Thank you for your love for the children!

If you are interested in bringing a work group to our campus for a project, please contact Matt Higgins.

Girl’s Dorm & Welcome Center Roof Project

Staff Cottage Project

Easter is coming quickly, and in the past, the children have enjoyed going shopping to purchase new Easter outfits. As you can imagine, with over 70 children, the cost can be quite high! We usually rely on gift cards that are received for Christmas to help with the cost, but unfortunately this year we received fewer gift cards than usual and will not have enough for Easter outfits. If you would like to be a blessing to the children, donate now so the children are able to go shopping again this year. The children are so proud to be able to wear a new outfit like all the other children in church. We know they will greatly appreciate anything you do for them.

Our theme for Hope Ministries this year is “New Beginnings.” There are many areas of ministry that will be new for us this coming year. We are praying to construct new cottages both in Tampa as well as Honduras. We will receive many new children into our care this year that will have a new beginning in their lives. We have been blessed with new staff, and we are excited to announce a new Board of Directors for Hope International Ministries.

One of the highlights of the school year for the children is “Spirit Week.” These five days, the students dress up in different crazy ways to show their school spirit for our boys’ and girls’ basketball teams. For each “Spirit Day,” the classes go all out, and even the teachers get involved! Spirit Week ends with a big pep rally to support our teams and announce the winners for each spirit day that were the best dressed and most creative.

The theme days this year are:Day 1: Crazy Mismatch Day – Dress totally crazy!Day 2: Twin Day – Choose one or more friends and dress alike.Day 3: Dynamic Duo Day – Choose a friend and dress like a famous pair. (Batman and Robin, Salt and Pepper, Fred and Wilma…you get the idea!)Day 4: Throwback Thursday – Pick an era and dress up like they did then.Day 5: Extreme Blue & White Day – Go nuts wearing our school colors!

We are proud of our school and basketball teams for their godly testimony and hard work. If you live in the area, check our Basketball Schedule, and come out and support the Hope Eagles! To see pictures of the children from Spirit week, visit our Facebook Page.

For more information on how you can support Hope Christian School and our sports program, visit our School Website or Donate Now.